In networking for data communication, different protocols are used to communicate for different purposes. In other words, networks using different data communication protocols are used to provide users of these networks with different services. A service network using a particular data communication protocol may be chosen for an ability of the protocol to optimize a particular parameter such as cost, delay or bandwidth. The Internet Protocol (IP) is one of the best known of these data communication protocols. Other data communication protocols include Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Synchronous Optical Network (SONET), Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), Gigabit Ethernet, Fiber-Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) and Enterprise Systems Connection (ESCON).
Often, service networks that are separated geographically communicate over transport networks. Increasing need for capacity in transport networks is, to a large extent, being met by communication links over which communication is accomplished by modulating an optical signal, such as a beam of light, to represent binary coded data. To make efficient use of an optical medium (such as glass fiber), many unique data signals may be transmitted over the same optical medium so long as each data signal modulates an optical signal with a wavelength different from the other optical signals on the same medium. When the wavelengths of the different optical signals are only marginally different from one another, the transmission scheme may be called Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM). In a network using DWDM, two elements connected by a single physical link (optical fiber) may communicate using a number of optical signals, each with a distinct wavelength. Each optical signal may be called a wavelength channel and have qualities normally associated with a entire link between elements, such as bandwidth and delay.
Advances in the area of optical transport networks have resulted in optical transport network-specific protocols for use to establish, reconfigure and dynamically provision resources within an optical transport network (See “Scaling Optical Data Networks with Wavelength Routing—A White Paper,” Monterey Networks, 1999, hereby incorporated herein by reference).
Although provisioning, or “access control,” of resources in a transport network can be dynamic from the perspective of a element of the transport network, current access control of resources in a transport network from the perspective of a service network node (such as an ATM switch) is essentially static. At best, service network node access control can take the form of a point-and-click operation whereby a network management node controls both a service network node and a transport network element. At worst, the access control can be a slow and painstaking operation that requires redesigning a portion of the optical transport network.
A service network node designated for connection to optical transport network equipment may be termed transport access customer premise equipment (CPE). Due to distance limitations of connections between a transport access CPE and an optical transport network element, there is a requirement for the transport access CPE to be co-located with the optical transport network element. Often, the optical transport network element is chosen for functions specific to the service of the service network node as well as transport network specific functions. A change in the protocol of the service network may therefore require a change of the transport network element. Further, improvements to the connection of the transport network element to the rest of the optical transport network, for instance, provision of additional wavelength channels, may require an update to the static access control.
Even if a service network node could be provided with a capability to dynamically provision resources in an optical transport network, it may be costly or inconvenient to update the operational capability of transport access CPE. Further, as in the case of a service provider, there may be a requirement to grant transport network access to more than one service network, where the service networks use a variety of data communication protocols.